Rebekha Sharkie has welcomed an industry-imposed ban on live export shipments in the northern summer months but called on parliament to pass her bill banning the entire industry.
Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

We’ve still got two days to go this sitting year, so who knows what else could end up happening.

A massive thank you to Paul Karp, Katharine Murphy and Gareth Hutchens for dragging me through another day. And also for feeding me. It is very important. And of course, to Mike Bowers, for keeping the laughs and the sparkling images flowing. We’ll all be back early tomorrow morning because you are just lucky that way.

But as always, the biggest thank you goes to you for reading and letting us know your thoughts. It really is so important that as many people as possible engage with their democracy, even when it isn’t meeting their expectations. Especially then. And we value it more than you know.

We’ll see you early tomorrow morning. In the mean time – take care of you.

Mark Dreyfus has issued his statement on the peace-in-our-time encryption legislation bill:

Labor has spent five years responsibly improving national security legislation to make Australians safer, and we have done the same thing today.

“The government have made important concessions on its earlier positions on the telecommunications and other legislation amendment (assistance and access) bill.

“It appears the government will agree to proposals by Labor that will ensure there is better oversight and limitation of the powers in this bill, and better safeguards against potential unintended consequences. These are still subject to agreement by the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, and further details will be contained in its report on the bill.

“The changes include limiting the application of the powers in this bill to only serious offences, properly defining key terms in the bill, and requiring a “double-lock” authorisation process for technical capability notices.

“Importantly, the PJCIS will continue its scrutiny of the bill into 2019, allowing for outstanding concerns to be worked on and further amendments considered in the new year if necessary.

“Following the extraordinary interference with this committee by the minister for home affairs and prime minister, Labor welcomes the constructive negotiations conducted with the attorney general over the past two days.

“Let me be clear – this bill is far from perfect and there are likely to be significant outstanding issues. But this compromise will deliver security and enforcement agencies the powers they say they need over the Christmas period, and ensure adequate oversight and safeguards to prevent unintended consequences while ongoing work continues – just as Labor proposed.

“I want to issue a call to the government – the trashing of bipartisan process and politicisation of national security that has occurred over the past month must never happen again. There is nothing more important than keeping Australians safe – the government must remember that.”

And lastly,Rebekha Sharkie has responded to the live sheep export trade:

I welcome today’s announcement by ALEC of a three-month moratorium on sheep shipments to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer.

The moratorium, to take effect from 1 June 2019, will mean no shipments of Australian sheep will depart any Australian port for the Middle East during the northern summer when we know these animals face the greatest physical stress.

This moratorium is the first in a series of necessary steps to phase out an unsustainable industry.

My bill is a hard-fought, reasoned compromise to phase out this declining industry over five years.

Allowing a free vote would give the government the opportunity to act on an issue which has galvanised the Australian people to a degree that cannot be ignored and will give all MPs the freedom to vote according to their convictions and represent the views of their communities.

This afternoon I received a letter from ALEC advising me that they were committed to a reform process and that the cruelty exposed in the media was not representative of their industry.

Contrary to ALEC’s statement that I have not directly engaged with the industry, I have met with the live export industry and I stand by my comments that this industry has failed to reform to the standards expected by the Australian people and that it should be phased out.

Here’s how Mathias Cormann agreed to let the Penny Wong motion through

That –

(a) the sex discrimination amendment (removing discrimination against students) bill 2018 be considered on Wednesday, 5 December 2018 from 11 am to 12.35 pm, at time allotted for consideration of government business;

(b) if, by 12.35 pm the bill has not been finally considered, the questions on all remaining stages shall be put without debate;

(c) paragraph (b) of this order shall operate as a limitation of debate under standing order 142; and

(d) the provisions of standing order 115(3) shall not apply to the bill so that the bill may be further considered even if it has been referred to a standing or select committee for inquiry and report.

Cormann:

I indicate on behalf of the government that we will be supporting this motion as amended and that the prime minister has reached out to the leader of the opposition to ensure that we find a reasonable way forward and a reasonable compromise to help facilitate what the prime minister has indicated he would like to see facilitated, and that is to remove discrimination against students before the end of the parliamentary sitting year. We look forward to genuine and good faith engagement with the opposition and also with others in the parliament in the intervening period. On that basis, we will support this motion proceeding.

Australian Greens Senator for NSW and Animal Welfare Spokesperson, Dr Mehreen Faruqi has called the announcement from live exporters that they will a impose three-month ban on sheep trade to the Middle East during northern summer as too little, too late.

In reaction to the voluntary suspension, Senator Faruqi said:

“While welcome, to be frank this is too little, too late. We know that this is the last ditch attempt for the live export to save itself before it is consigned to the history books forever.

“A voluntary and self imposed suspension over the Northern Summer is wholly inadequate and can be overturned at any time. History has shown we cannot let the industry regulate itself. The only option we have is to phase out the industry and transition to a chilled meat industry

“My bill to ban the live export of has passed the Senate. The government can stonewall and run protection for only so long. It’s time they allowed a free vote so we can end this cruel trade once and for all” she concluded.

The attorney general, Christian Porter,has confirmed the “fundamental resolution” with Labor over the encryption bill and described it as a “massive win for the Australian people” that will allow agencies to break encryption to police serious crimes.

Porter said that Labor’s previous position would have meant state police would not have access to the powers over summer, and agencies could only use them for two categories of offence (terrorism, child sex offences). Passage of such an interim bill would have been “substantially ineffective”, he said.

Some further details of the deal:

The number of agencies that have access to powers has been reduced, with state anti-corruption bodies removed

The threshold for serious offences is all terrorist and child sex offences and other offences with a sentence of more than 3 years in prison

There will be a review of the powers within the first 12 months by the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security

Porter was sanguine about the extra safeguards on technical capability notices, arguing they added to the oversight of the powers without slowing the process down.

The abortion motion that Fraser Anning, Amanda Stoker and Barry O’Sullivan attempted to move was denied. An attempt to suspend standing orders was also made, and also lost.

Larissa Waters, the Greens senator from Queensland had a few thoughts:

Here is yet another LNP motion which shows complete disrespect for women.

“Perpetuating the myth about late term abortions is disrespectful to women and flies in the face of the facts.

“The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare tracks the stats, and 94.6% of abortions are performed before 13 weeks.

“Just 0.7% of abortions in Australia are carried out at or after 20 weeks.

“Termination at or after 22 weeks is extremely rare and generally occurs where continuing pregnancy would kill the mother.

“To keep claiming that an abortion can occur just days before a baby is due, as these conservative Queensland senators do, is grossly misleading, it’s insulting, and its’s disgraceful.

“I want to thank those LNP members who distanced themselves from this nonsense and voted with those of us who think women can make decisions about their own bodies. It’s very telling that there are only two women voting on the other side, amidst a handful of old white men who want to control women.”